Katie and Jonathan Platt

Please excuse the jumbled bits...for some reason Tripod doesn't like punctuation...

Monday, January 23rd, 2006

Today we set off of the Baltics! It all started with an overnight trip to Liverpool. We were flying out of John Lennon Airport so early, we thought we should be there the night before. So we met in town after word and took a train from Piccadilly in Manchester to Liverpool Lime Street. The plan was to walk to the hotel, but we forgot to bring the address and didn’t even have a map! DOH! We eventually found it, using some streetside maps and calling information to get the address of the hotel.

We finally found it and just chucked our bags in the room and headed out. We had a reservation at a restaurant called The Monro. It was very highly rated, and we were able to use our ‘Highlife’ restaurant discount card. I had a vegetable parcel to start and Jonny had asparagus tarts. Then I had a steak with veg and Jonny splashed out on wild boar. Both were good, and we only paid around £20 for the lot!

We headed back and crashed on a bed that was so soft and springy, it was like sleeping on a sack of pudding!

The next morning we were up really early for our 7am flight, which left right on time. A strong tailwind saw us arrive in Riga, Latvia in just 2 ½ hours—1/2 hour ahead of schedule.

We were picked up at the airport by a pre-arranged taxi and taken to our B&B, called Homestay. It was gorgeous. A huge log cabin. The owners were Diga and Rick. We never actually met Rick, who was originally from New Zealand. Diga was lovely, though and showed us to our room—a two-room suite that looked just like home. Well, if your home was an art-filled cosy log cabin with lots of eclectic touches like funky lamps on granny doilies and books in every language. We rested awhile and I devoured a good portion of my can’t-put-it-down book Empress Orchid by Anchee Min.

Eventually we headed for town. We wanted to book our bus tickets for Thursday & have a look at the markets. Diga gave us directions, and we headed out. We took the tram…only 20 cents all the way into town! We found the bus station & booked our tickets to Tallinn, Estonia okay, and the markets were just beyond that. They were indoor, inside these giant old warehouse where they used to build zeppelins - big blimp things. There were probably five of these, all connected together, and each one was the size of 3 football pitches, at a guess. In general, the whole getup was HUGE. The first one we went into seemed to be overflowing with cheese. There were all different vendors, all selling the largest variety of dairy products I’ve ever seen. Eggs too, lots of kinds – quail, duck etc. And honey, tons of that too, in huge jars.

We wandered through it all, taking in all the sights: Fresh meats, sausages, cold meats, cooked meats, fish in every form—smoked, pickled, whole, filleted, stuffed—eels even! Bakeries were displaying hundreds of varieties of bread from bright white through to darkest brown. Other bakers had a huge assortment of sweet treats – cakes, bars, cookies, biscuits and other things I couldn’t name. WE each sampled a sweet bar & bought a loaf of bread. The sweets were equally good, with a fruity layer between layers of cake or biscuit—mine had chocolate on top. My bread was dark and heavy – sour and pumpernickel flavoured. I loved it. Jonny’s was much lighter, but also very heavy.

There were dry-good sellers with buckets and baskets and bushels and Hessian sacks of seeds, nuts, grains, cereals and dried fruits. Some had every description of goodies in the little baskets to be chosen pick-a-mix style. There were vendors with all the fresh fruit & veg imaginable- carrots and potatoes and horseradish straight from the ground and covered with a fine layer of dirt. Most impressive were the displays of all shapes and sizes and colours of gourds, with the vendors hacking big wedges out of the largest pumpkins and selling the pieces by the pound.

A few were selling clothes or household goods and we looked a few stocking caps because my hat wasn’t very good. WE eventually bought a grey striped in the outdoor market stalls. COLD!

Through all of our meanderings through the market stalls, we eventually realised that we didn’t know exactly where we were. WE though we had an idea of the right direction, and struck out that way, only to see on a map a bit later that we’d gone 100% the wrong direction! WE managed to find our way back, though!

After that we headed toward the old town through a series of underground tunnels that went underneath the bust roads. They were lined with more shops & market stalls. I lost my bearings again completely, but thank goodness Jonny didn’t! We stopped just inside the old town at a little café for coffees and a chance to warm up. I don’t think that it had a name—many of the cafes didn’t seem to—but it was right across the street from an S&M bar! Good Grief!

We stayed in there nursing our (very cheap!) drinks and warming up for quite awhile. We were trying to decide where to eat. We just decide to go for a wander and see some more of the old town and try to find a restaurant that looked promising.

We wandered while it started to get dark, exploring little side streets. We didn’t really see anything of significance, just a maze of little cobbled streets. Eventually, we found a very quiet little café where we ordered a few beers and dinner. I got a ‘beer plate,’ which was a nice mix of cold meat, pickles, cheese, olives & other veg. It was really nice. Jonny got a veggie soup & some garlic bread to go with. After that we just headed back to the B&B on the tram. It was really crowded this time.

This was the first time I noticed how grumpy Latvians were, especially the older women. I mean, I know a crowded tram is not the best time to judge people, but I noticed it from then on. People didn’t smile back, not even a cursory smile. Jon said he remembered reading something about it, that the people are a bit apathetic. But I suppose these people lived through some horrible things…it might be a bit unfair to accuse them of being grumpy.

We got back okay, and spent the evening chatting to Diga about the war and communism. She told us amazing story about her uncle. He had apparently joined the Red Army when they first invaded, because it was the only way he could keep some control and decide what he wanted to do. If not that, he’d have been drafted and probably on the front lines. Of course then the Germans came and he defected because at that time the Latvians saw the Nazis as Liberators from the Russians. So he joined up with them, only to find that they weren’t so great either. When the Germans were finally defeated, he realised he was in big trouble when the Red Army swept through – being a deserter from the Red Army. By some amazing chance, a woman came & asked him & his friend if they wanted over to the west. He and his friend jumped at the chance. Apparently, she was with a travelling circus and had a few extra visas for helpers. So if they were willing to help, they could go. Years later, his brother (Diga’s father) saw him on TV during the Neuremberg trials. He was a guard, and in an American military uniform. How that happened she didn’t know, except that he had been turned over to a POW to the states after the travelling circus got to the west. Amazing! She also told us about how her father had spent a few years in a Gulag (work camp) in Siberia. Very interesting stuff.

The next day, we accidentally overslept because we forgot to change our clock to Latvia time! DOH! When we did set out, we took a more structured stroll around the old town. I had planned it the night before to take in all the major highlights. We started at the main church, Know as the Dome Cathedral. We went inside, but it wasn’t terribly impressive. You could tell it was a place that had suffered during the communist oppression. On the outside you could see that a lot of the windows were still boarded up and not glazed.

After that it was up to the palace, which is still the home of the president. Security wasn’t that tight, though. Just two traditional guards standing stock still. The rest of the am we spend taking in medieval gates, churches & guild houses. WE stopped for lunch at a place called Juffin’s 12, where we ordered the lunch of the day – that was leek soup (gorgeous!) & beef stroganoff with mashed potatoes. It was really nice, and also seemed popular with the locals. The best thing was that the whole thing cost about £6, including drinks!

In the afternoon we wandered some more, popping in and out of souvenir shops. We bought ourselves a sugar bowl and a watercolour painting. We also bought mom & dad a nice pot. We eventually wound our way to St Peter’s church, where you can take an elevator up the spire for a great view of the city. It was nice, but VERY cold, and we didn’t last long up there. We also went to see what’s called the freedom monument. It was built when Latvia originally declared freedom from Russia in 1918. Later, when the Russians re-claimed the area, it was nicknamed ‘the travel agency’ because laying just one flower by it was enough to get you a one-way ticket to Siberia.

That afternoon we also saw Latvia’s occupation museum. Very much in the same vein as the Terror House in Budapest. It told the tale of the Russian and German occupations in Latvia. The story basically goes like this: Latvia declares & fights for it’s independence from Russia in 1918. It wins. Over the next decade or more, Russia slowly chips away at Latvia’s autonomy, and brings it back into it’s sphere of influence. When WWII starts, Russia invades Latvia, presumably under the guise of ‘protection’ from invading Germans. Latvians are horrified, but trapped. The Russian government begins systematically shipping off the wealthy and powerful to Siberia. Some are just murdered. The area that our hostel is in was an affluent neighbourhood, filled with doctors, lawyers and politicians. It lost 75% or so of it’s inhabitants, the remainder were scattered. Then the Nazis takeover Latvia. Many are delighted, seeing them as a liberating army. It doesn’t take long for the shine to wear off, and for the Nazis to be seen for their true colours. And it doesn’t really last long anyway…the Nazis begin to lose the tide of the war, and the Red Army pushes back in. Any who assisted the Nazis, joined the Nazis, sympathised with them or didn’t fight against them was seen as a traitor. And here begins many decades of social, cultural and religious communist oppression. Latvia was not free from the Russians until sometime in the 80’s. It was all really upsetting, and we couldn’t really look at it all. We just got an idea and then left. Some of the details were staggering…certain numbers of people simply disappearing in one night and things like that. One part showed a room at a Gulag, and the plain plank beds people had to sleep on. It was like trying to sleep on a packing crate. Or displays of things found at the Gulags after they closed…items that had been cherished such as postcards from home (from the twice annual post they were allowed) or tiny sentimental trinkets. It really makes you re-evaluate what it means to have a ‘bad day.’ It also made us look at things differently, such as the crumbling buildings in the city centre—scars of the communist era.

We capped off the afternoon with a drink at a corner bar that caught my eye during the day. I don’t remember the name, but it looked like it hadn’t changed at all since the war. Jonny said he could visualise a Russian general blustering in there & demanding a vodka. It was very small and all decorated with dark, warm wood with a very nice bar with a wooden canopy. The only bad thing was that the beer would come out and we very foamy!

After much hemming and hawing, we decide to go a restaurant from this chain called Lido. It was called Alus Seta. It was cafeteria style & we both got WAY too much food. When we went to pay, it turned out they didn’t take cards, so I had to wait there until Jonny came back with some cash. DOH!

We were so agonisingly full after that meal that we just headed home. I had been sneezy with a runny nose all day, and I was feeling quite bad. Anyway, we had to pack. So we headed back. Jonny spent some time chatting to Diga and I took a long, hot bath. After that I went down and cuddled Diga’s lovely golden retriever Sara and then headed to bed.

The next day it was off to Tallinn! Luckily, we remembered to change our clocks and get up on time.

The journey was long but fairly pleasant. The bus was a double-decker, so we sat on top and had a great view. The scenery was nice – flat terrain covered by birch and pine forest and a blanket of snow. The trees were especially nice, as the pines had dark bar at the base that faded up to read at the top. Against the strop black and white of the birch, it was quite striking.

Arrival in Tallinn was a bit fraught. We didn’t really now how to get to our hotel, but had been warned off taxis, and they were notorious for ripping off bozos like us. Luckily, we had a map, so I negotiated us through the old town to our hotel on the other side. It was a nice first sight of the town, even if we did have to carry our bags.

We crashed at the hotel for awhile, and then headed out to have a look around. Unlike Riga, it was quite easy to suss out Tallinn. It was a lot smaller, which helped, and seemed to have more large roads and fewer little labyrinths. We had lunch at a well-recommended place called Turg’s, where we had a lovely breaded and fried piece of pork stuffed with cheese. So far, I like Estonia!

We took a few photos before it got too dark, and did some souvenir shopping. It turned out Tallinn was rubbish for souvenirs. It was awash with those one-inside-the-other Russian painted dolls, plain boring linen, expensive amber, imported crystal and ceramic houses. There was also quite a thing with wooden spoons. Frustrated with our hunt for an Estonian milk jug to match our Latvian sugar bowl, we set ourselves to finding a place for dinner.

After the stuff-fest the night before and the large lunch, we decided a late & light dinner was in order. We wandered out with a few places in mind, but were drawn in by a lively looking Italian place. It was great, and popular with the locals. We shared a pizza and finished off with crepes and headed to the hotel to crash.

The next morning we got up for a big day of sightseeing, but first we had the hotel buffet breakfast—I learned that meatballs for breakfast are good!

I had a general route in mind, but we threw that to the wind. We couldn’t get lost here if we tried! After unsuccessfully trying to get into St Oliviste’s church, we followed the wall down to the hill where the parliament/castle and St Nicholas’s church is. As we walked down, we came across some parts of the town that weren’t quite as picturesque…places slightly off the beaten track that hadn’t yet been able to recover from Soviet rule.

When we got to the top of ‘Toompea’ (the big hill), there was a snowy terrace overlooking some of the town. It was quite warm, so I insisted on building a snowman. Jonny wasn’t best pleased, but I built one anyway. I set him up on the ledge of the terrace. An Estonian woman – a bit old and mad – built one too, across the terrace. We did a lot of laughing and pointing together, since we didn’t speak each other’s language. By the time I came back to see him later, someone had put a penis on him!

After the snowman, we had a look inside the big Easter Orthodox church called St Nicholas’s. It was very impressive—very colourful and covered in gold. Perhaps the most impressive bit was the fervency with which people partook. Most people genuflected 2 or three times before entering or after exiting the church, and none of it was half hearted. You could tell these people were only recently able to reclaim their religion.

We headed back to the main town via a very pretty set of stairs and terraces where there were lovely views. It was like hovering in the rooftops. We took turns making snowballs and throwing them on to the empty terrace below. Jonny was desperate to throw one at somebody and then run, but I gave him the evil eye enough that he relented. We eventually headed into a little café set into a room in the old fortifications. It was small and cosy with a warm fire and we got hot drinks and wrote postcards.

We went for a lovely set lunch at a little pub in town—breaded and fried pork again. We braved the jellied cabbage, but it was gross! After lunch we did more souvenir shopping, trying hard to find a special thing to bring back, but to no avail. We finally had to give up. The trip would have to be represented by a Latvian sugar bowl.

After giving up, we headed to the Tallinn City Museum for a look round. It was free which was nice. It was one of those kid-oriented interactive places, so we had a good time goofing around and pulling strings and whatever other mischief we could get into.

After that we headed back to the hotel for a rest, and the out for dinner at a ‘medieval theme’ restaurant—otherwise known as a total tourist-trap with overpriced food, but I’m a sucker for them. It was good food, though, and lovely atmosphere…there were people there speaking just about every language under the sun. By then we were shattered, and we enjoyed a slow walk back to the hotel and a sound night of sleep.

The next day it was back on the bus to Latvia, the highlight of which was watching ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ with Russian voiceovers and Latvian subtitles. The funny thing was, we were able to decipher most of what was going on. Hilarious!

We enjoyed our last few hours in Latvia by wandering around the markets again and then hitting a restaurant that had been highly recommended. It was a place where they put garlic into every dish they serve, even dessert! It was good, but we gave dessert a miss. We stank enough as it was!

After that it was on the bus to the airport and home! Where Glyn and Veronica collected us at Liverpool John Lennon.